Description: What are the most common dreams and why do we have them? What does a dream about death mean? What do dreams of swimming, failing, or flying symbolize?
First published by Sigmund Freud in 1899, The Interpretation of Dreams considers why we dream and what it means in the larger picture of our psychological lives. Delving into theories of manifest and latent dream content, the special language of dreams, dreams as wish fulfillments, the significance of childhood experiences, and much more, Freud, widely considered the "father of psychoanalysis," thoroughly and thoughtfully examines dream psychology. Encompassing dozens of case histories and detailed analyses of actual dreams, this landmark text presents Freud's legendary work as a tool for comprehending our sleeping experiences.Brief description: Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) was an Austrian psychiatrist and the founder of psychoanalysis. Considered the most influential psychological theorist of the twentieth century, Freud's theories have had an enormous influence on art, literature, and social thinking. Freud's fundamental idea was that all humans are endowed with an unconscious in which potent sexual and aggressive drives, and defenses against them, struggle for supremacy. His first major work was The Interpretation of Dreams, which established the importance of the psychoanalytical movement. His other writings include Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality, Group Psychology and the Analysis of the Ego, The Future of an Illusion, The Ego and the Id, and Beyond the Pleasure Principle.